Family Ties
by Anichibi.Fangirl
Summary: A collection of oneshots featuring a 17 year old Neku Sakuraba in the world of FFVII where he travels with Cloud and the others and starts forming bonds with them


Note: Neku's age has been bumped up to 17

"Hey. Hey, kid, wake up. Hey!" Blue eyes shot open and Neku sat up, his head slamming into something and causing him to recoil back. "Dammit, mom, I told you not to-"

"Do I look like a woman to you?" Neku's eyes adjusted to the bright sky above him. He saw a blonde haired man with blue eyes staring back at him, rubbing his chin from when Neku had slammed his head against it. "Ah, sorry."

"Anyway, what's your name?"

"It's Neku. Neku Sakuraba." Neku replied. "Cloud Strife." The blonde replied. Three other people made themselves apparent. "The name's Tifa! Glad to see you're okay!" And black haired woman spoke up, ruffling Neku's hair. "I'm Aerith." A brunette girl added, fixing Neku's now messed up hair. "And I'm Barret." A big man with a gun for an arm spoke loudly.

"Where are my parents?" Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Sorry. We came as soon as we saw the flames, but you're the only person we could save." Tifa replied solemnly. "S-So that means that they're-"

"Dead, yes." Cloud scowled. He saw Sephiroth fleeing the scene when he was running out of the village with Neku. Knowing that he was going around destroying villages made him sick. "No...they're not...this can't be..." Neku stood up and started running in the direction of his village, only to be caught by Cloud just outside the village.

"Mom! Dad! Anyone! Please! You have to be alive! Please!" He yelled, unable to stop the tears that pooled in his eyes. He struggled in Cloud's grip, crying out for his friends in hopes they were alive. "Shiki! Beat! Rhyme! Joshua!" After no response was given, he gave up struggling, causing Cloud, who had been trying surprisingly hard to hold the teenager back, to fall down, ultimately taking Neku with him.

"It's gone...it's all gone..." Neku fell back against Cloud, letting his tears leak out and run down his face. "Everything...I'll never see my parents again...Shiki..." He covered his face, his legs now up against his chest as cried and let everything out. He hid his face in his knees, sobbing loudly. Cloud sighed heavily, letting his guard down long enough for Neku to run right into the burning village. "H-Hey! Kid! Neku!"

Neku ran in the direction of where his home used to stand, now just a burnt husk that was still falling apart. The doorframe still held, despite the fact the door had broken off its hinges. He ran in, looking for any sign of his parents. A pile of wood that had fallen from the floor above gave him his answer, as blood had leaked out from underneath the pile and a small necklace lay on the ground, the chain snapped. Inlaid in the jewelry was a Materia that looked to be a mastered healing Materia.

He picked it up, running his thumb over the Materia in the jewelry. "This was Mom's..." He bit his lip and let a tear slip out, clutching the necklace to his chest as his knees buckled. He heard someone calling his name before blacking out.

He woke up again on the ground just outside the remains of his village. "Finally, you're awake!" He sat up, but this time he was smacked in the back of the head. "You idiot! Think next time before you run straight into a burning village! You could've gotten yourself killed!" Tifa yelled, bent over to glare at the boy better. "I'm sorry...I just..." He felt for the necklace that had been in his hands but it wasn't anywhere to be found. "Looking for this?" Cloud tossed the necklace in front of him. Neku didn't look up, simply muttering a "thank you" as he picked up the necklace.

"Listen, Neku." He didn't look up when Cloud started talking, instead playing with the jewelry in his hands. "I understand how you feel. Really, I do. But that doesn't mean I'm just letting you mope about something you couldn't have done anything to stop. And we're not leaving you here alone. We're dropping you off at the next village we find, alright?"

"No..." Neku stood up, his face hidden by his bangs. "I'm going with you. I want to find the guy who did this, who took everything from me, and make him pay." He growled, clutching the necklace tighter. "So please, let me go with you!" He looked up, looking Cloud straight in the eye. "I'm not very strong, but I still want to fight! I want to get stronger! Strong enough to face the guy who did this to me!"

"I see...well, local mom friend Tifa's gonna watch you like a hawk, so don't do anything stupid like you did today." Cloud replied, ruffling the boy's hair. "Mom friend?! What do you mean 'mom friend'?!" Neku, for the first time all day, laughed happily.


End file.
